When I posted Gas in stasis for now as oil rises off bottom, I was able to buy regular for $2.39 in my old neighborhood, which I did as I expected gas prices to rise. I drove through my old neighborhood yesterday and saw that, sure enough, gas prices had risen. The old corner station was selling regular for $2.73, while the two open stations down the street were undercutting it at $2.69.* Just the same, that's a 30 cent increase in two weeks.
WXYZ had anticipated this price rise last week when the station posted Holiday weekend gas prices to its Youtube channel.
People aren't happy about the increased prices, but they are still a dollar lower than they were last year at this time. Also, the year-over-year lower prices are continuing to encourage more driving, as I pointed out when I posted the driving update for Ruby.
As for my near-term predictions, I'm not forecasting any major price increases based on the retail price environment and the commodity futures. Gas Buddy shows that the Detroit average is still at $2.70, just as it was in last week's WXYZ clip, and in fact is down a penny from yesterday. That means that the stations in my old neighborhood are, if anything, still slightly overpriced compared to their historical patterns. Also, Oil-Price.Net lists yesterday's closing prices for WTI at $57.68, Brent at $62.58 and RBOB at $1.99. All are down from two weeks ago, when WTI sold for $60.75, Brent closed at $66.86, and RBOB was at $2.04. If anything, prices might decrease slightly over the next couple of weeks before rising again in time for schools to let out and summer driving season to begin in earnest.
*Both are still cheaper than the gas station I pass by on my way to work, which is advertising regular at $2.78. That station made a brief cameo in the WXYZ video. Did you catch it?
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